Shuttle SN78SH7

Bare-bones system primed for HD home-theater use


AS LONG AS YOUR NEEDS ARE—and will remain—limited, Shuttle's $299 Sh178SH7 bare-bones system should suffice as the starting point for a smart, small home-theater PC.

You have plenty of options for powering this 7.4x8.2x12.8-inch system: It uses an AM2+ socket ready for the latest Athlon X2 or Phenom processors.The two RAM slots can hold up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM.The chipset is the new Nvidia GeForce 8200, which supports DirectX 10 and is optimized for HD
video playback without requiring a discrete graphics card. (If you decide to add a CPU, though, you can use it in concert with the integrated graphics—thanks to built-in Hybrid SLI technology----and boost your video
performance.)

The SN78SH7 has microphone and headphone
jacks, two USB 2.0 ports, and one four-pin FireWire jack on the front panel; and VGA-out, HDMI, and six-pin FireWire connections, two external SATA (eSATA) ports, four more USB ports, an Ethernet jack, and
eight-channel audio on the back. There are two expansion slots (one PCI Express x16 and one regular PCI), and three drive bays
(one each of external 5.25, external 3.5, and internal 3.5)—all in a removable drive rack—for components. An out-of-the-way
300-watt power supply and pre-tied cables help contribute to overall interior neatness.



Storage could present a problem for Media Center chores: You may need those eSATA ports, as there's no room for a
second hard drive. In fact, we had trouble reinstalling the CPU's fan-and-heat-sink combo after our test build, though it and the drive tray were easy to remove. You'll also have to settle for a midrange graphics card at best; don't expect the longer single-slot, or double-slot, kinds to fit. —Matthew Murray

Computer Shopper January 2009
www.shuttle.com

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Shuttle KPC K4800

Linux cube is a box of value




IF YOU SPEND MOST of your time reading and composing e-mails and Word documents or surfing the Web, chances are you'll wind up paying for horsepower you'll never tap into. Enter the Shuttle KPC K4800, a low-cost, Linux-based PC that comes with (almost) everything you'll need to start computing right out of the box.

For $299.99, you get a 2GHz Intel Celeron 440 processor, 512MB of RAM, and Intel's integrated GMA 950 graphics-equipment more than capable of running the preinstalled, easy-to-use Foresight Linux OS (a Windows version of the KPC is also available). This desktop also comes with a CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive, but you don't get a keyboard, mouse, or display-if you don't have these necessities, be prepared to spend another couple of hundred dollars.

The system has very limited expansion options other than adding more memory (up to 2GB using two slots) or a seconds hard drive; PCI slots are nonexistent. Onboard sis-channel audio and Gigabit Ethernet are standard, and you can add wireless 802.11b/g networking for an additional $55. Connectivity comprises four USB ports, DVI and analog (VGA) video inputs, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, three audio jacks, and a 15-pin serial port.




From the very first time we turned the system on, we were impressed by how quiet this box runs; if not for the blue power LED, we wouldn't have known it was plugged in. We were also pleased with how quickly and effortessly it acquired an IP address when we plugged in our Ethernet cable. Its performance in everyday tasks like burning CD and loading Web pages was adequate if not exceptional, but if that's all you need, the K4800 is one of the best deals around. -John R.Delaney

Computer Shopper November 2008
us.shuttle.com

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Shuttle Blasts Off Again

Shuttle Blasts Off Again
Shuttle launched its KPC (short for Korporate Perfect Cube) line of cheap, Linux-powered small-form-factor desktops earlier this year, and the new KPC K58 offers more of the same. This time, however, the unit is shipping with a new Intel Atom processor. (Shuttle offers the KPC K48 as a bare-bones unit.) Part of Shuttle's line of low-power-consumption units-The K58 runs at just 55 watts when in use-the PC also comes with "MyKover" swappable front panels. Pricing was not available at press time, though you can expect the K58 to cost well-under $500.

source: Computer Shopper August 2008.
www.shuttle.com

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